April 12th, 2010
03:36 PM ET
13 years ago
Senator vows to block carry-on fee
Washington (CNN) - Sen. Chuck Schumer vowed Monday to offer legislation that would prohibit airlines from charging passengers a fee to carry on luggage.
Spirit Airlines recently announced a carry on fee ranging from $30 to $45 per bag, becoming the first U.S carrier to charge for carry on luggage.
The New York Democrat said in an interview on CNN that the new fees "step over the line" and if the Treasury Department does not answer his plea to prevent the fees from being implemented he is certain that the legislation will go through the Senate and the House "like a hot knife through butter."
so they will add it onto the ticket price instead. At least that would be more honest. I would be more concerned about getting trapped on the run way for hours with no food or beverage and pay toilets.
Wait, with wars going on in two theaters, unemployment increasing and Taxes abound our senate is actually spending time arguing if they should charge for luggage on flights??? Those evil airlines should be in prison. Come on Chuck, take a moment to soulve some real problems we are facing in this country.
Leave it to a democrat. Let capitalism run its course. If no other carrier is doing this, then people will switch to another carrier. Once they feel it in their pockets, they will change.
Great Job, Senator!
Informed Americans are getting tired of Corporate America running this country while they empty the purses of the American People. Even uninformed Americans (largely conservative, largely Republican) are frustrated. But uninformed Americans haven't quite yet figured out the true source of their frustration–they themselves, how they have been voting, their characteristically poor choices across many decades, and their characteristic gullibility which is so valued by the corporate and political elite these sheep so blindly serve.
We don't need to pass an outrageous law every time a corporation does something outrageous. What we need are well-regulated corporations. The bigger the corporation, the more comprehensive the regulations.
We have learned that a CEO will do pretty much anything for a hundred million dollars. He will cook the books, lie to consumers, lie to Congress, bribe elected officials, hide assets, hide liabilities, provide pretty girls (or pretty boys) to government officials, buy elections, pollute the ground/air/water, and sell poisonous toys to our kids.
An airline executive recently commented: "We have learned that good customer service does not always result in higher profits." The unspoken message is that bad customer service often does.
This is ridiculous. The Government has no business in sticking their nose into the fees that private companies charge for particular services. Next thing you know they will try to mandate that no fast food meal include over 50 french fries and the chain can't charge more than $4.99 for that meal.
If McDonalds wants to charge $100 for a value meal, then it is up to the consumer to decide that it would be better to go to Burger King for $5.
Likewise, it should be up to the consumer to decide when it becomes a better deal for them to fly Southwest as opposed to Spirit. The fee strucutres for all of the airlines is readily available and this is nowhere close to deceptive practices.
This is a freemarket system that is, yet again, being hindered by our oversized and exceedingly expensive government.
This should be a discussion about truth in advertising. Spirit Airlines is running a bait and switch on their pricing.
The Brand has no integrity with such shoddy business practices. I am not sure we need new legislation to highlight a obvious bad business practice.
Tell it the way it is sell it the way it is.
Schumer will raise taxes that can't be avoided with no thought to the people he hurts, but when private businesses charge decreationary fees that can be avoided by the customers, he wants laws to control them. He has to know what he is doing.
Interesting how Spirit Airlines has implemented a fee for carry-ons to force us, the consumer, to pay the other baggage fee, for checked bags. That puts us in a forced fee situation. If the other airlines follow suit the true price of an airline ticket has just risen by 20% on a $200 ticket.
Option 1 – Fly another airline. Option 2 – Don't fly. Option 3 – Fly naked. Option 4 – Make your feelings known to the airlines and push for these fees to be dropped.
Good to know that even the littlest of things get attention these days!
Thanks, Chuck.
glad someone is doing what is right to stop this madness of harrassment fees from the big copanies> These fees seems unnecessary, and it wouldn't help the airlines. These fees are another try sample why big companies should have regulators.
I think all airlines should charge for carry on luggage. What was meant to be a small bag or two of a personal nature, like a purse and a meds bag has become a crazy world with people taking a five day vacation with carry on bags. They fill up the overhead bins, the bags are heavy because they are loaded down, and i have been hit on more than one occasion by a person trying to heft the overburdened bag over their heads and missing the mark. it slows the airlines down and every one behind them in line waiting to board while they try to place these bags in the overhead bins. then it causes everyone to have to wait once again while they try to heft the things out of the overhead bins once the plane has landed. it is unfair for the rest of us who use the check bag service. I also think carry on bags r dangerous not only from a terrorist standpoint but also in case of a accident the bags become lethel weapons and r in the way.